Matějovský took the Cup for the third place at Oschersleben

At the penultimate racing event of the Seat Leon Eurocup series at the Oschersleben circuit in Germany, fortune finally smiled on the Czech driver Michal Matějovský, of the SUNRED-BRT team. He took full advantage of his experience with this circuit and, after making an excellent start in the Saturday race, fought his way to the third place, his first podium spot in the premiere year of this series. By coincidence, the SUNRED team achieved a 'hat-trick', and Michal was joined on the podium by his team mates James Nash and Oscar Nogues. That is, James Nash, of England, came second, and Oscar Nogues, of Spain, won the race.

The first year of the Seat Leon Eurocup series was Matějovský's debut, and so he was gradually confronted with troubles that no newcomer can avoid. At the opening event at Valencia, where he had performed testing before the race, Michal, after starting third on the grid, was running at a point-scoring position. Unfortunately, due to technical troubles, he dropped down the order. Then came the races at Pau, Estoril and Brands Hatch, that is, circuits completely unknown to him. He was gradually gathering the experience. The situation in Germany was completely different. In the qualifying, he was among the top ten drivers. His fastest lap, however, was interrupted by the yellow flag. 'The car was running well and I was well aware that a position within the first three rows of the grid was within my reach. However, in my fastest lap, I had to slow down because of the yellow flag. Otherwise, I would have been disqualified,' explained Matějovský. This coincidence put him to the eleventh spot of the starting grid. The fact that these races are closely fought is indicated by the very narrow time difference of just 1.2 seconds between the drivers at the first and eleventh positions respectively.

In the Saturday race, after the flying start, the drivers got through the first bend with their cars running side by side, wheel to wheel. Matějovský devised excellent strategy. He entered the first bend running at the outside track and, driving through the escape area, avoided the collisions. The third bend saw him running fifth. 'The first bend was jammed. I was doing my best to remain on the track. In the first lap, I settled for the position behind the fourth-running driver. Then, I followed him,' said Matějovský after the race. Maintaining a steady pace, the Czech driver clocked the fastest lap of the race. At a later stage, two of his rivals left the track. Consequently, Michal Matějovský moved up to the third position, which he kept up to the finish. So the podium ceremony at Oschersleben on 30 August 2008 only featured drivers of the SUNRED team. Needless to say, all of them were looking forward to the upcoming celebration.

'I would like to thank the team very much. The car was excellent. This is a historic success. The trophy I have taken today really is important to me. This is a European Cup trophy. It is a great reward, after so many unlucky coincidences,' said Matějovský, satisfied after the Saturday race.